Workhouses and almshouses were institutions in England where the poor were housed and fed. The Poor Law Act of 1722 laid the foundation for a more formal workhouse system, with harsh conditions and scarce rations. In 1900, these institutions were seen as unproductive and costly, leading to changes in welfare laws.
A workhouse is an institution where the working poor are fed and housed. Almshouses are particularly closely associated with life in Victorian England, even though they are actually much older. In 1930, the hospice system was abolished in favor of other poor relief systems, but the idea of the hospice continues to haunt books set in the 1800s. One of the most famous workhouses is probably the one that appears in Oliver Twist, as a classic example of a British workhouse, complete with bleak conditions.
The earliest evidence of workhouses dates back to the 1600s, right around the time a series of poor laws were passed in an effort to help the poor and destitute. Elizabeth I’s Poor Law of 1601 is probably the most notable poor law of the 1600s. These laws recognized that the unfortunate were likely to always exist in English society and that citizens had a duty to provide for them, generally through the parishes of the church.
In 1722, the Poor Law Act laid the foundation for a more formal workhouse system, consolidated in 1834 with the Poor Law Union. With these laws came a change in attitude towards the poor. While previously people had seen the poor as unfortunate unfortunates, the idea began to prevail that the poor were lazy and inept. Through work, it was theorized, the poor would learn good habits, becoming less lazy and perhaps learning to fend for themselves. This attitude ignored the real problems faced by the poor, such as lack of education, the need to support large families and the rising cost of living in many urban areas.
Almshouses included dormitories for people to sleep in, often in very primitive conditions, along with cafeterias, chapels, and infirmaries. Because life in the workhouse was supposed to be demeaning and shameful, many of the workhouse rules focused on emphasizing this aspect. Rations were typically scarce, sometimes to the point of starvation, and people faced very harsh discipline. In some workhouses, residents were expected to be silent while in the workhouse, speaking only at work or on the way to work.
The workhouse was also known as the peak in some regions of Britain, and was a figure of terror to many impoverished Britons, especially those who had managed to extricate themselves from the workhouse. The residents of the almshouses were almost like slaves, forced to work if they were able to, usually for low wages. Beginning in 1900, this form of social services began to be seen as crude and perhaps unproductive, as well as costly to the state, and laws relating to welfare for the poor were reworked to align with modern values.
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